Kifissos River Water Quality Deteriorates as Pollution Raises Alarm in Athens

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Water quality in Athens’ Kifissos River has deteriorated significantly over the past five years, with sewage, industrial waste and livestock pollution continuing to put pressure on one of the capital’s most heavily polluted waterways.

New research from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) shows a marked decline in the river’s ecological condition between the summers of 2020 and 2025.

The deterioration is particularly evident along the section between Kokkinos Mylos and Kymis Avenue, an area surrounded by major industrial activity.

The findings emerged as authorities separately detected a tanker allegedly dumping liquid industrial waste into a storm drain connected to the river.

Pollution indicators worsening

HCMR researchers assess the health of the river partly by examining macroinvertebrates, including insect larvae and other small aquatic organisms living in the water.

The types and numbers of these organisms provide an important indication of water quality.

Polluted water tends to support species that can survive with lower oxygen levels, while species that require cleaner, oxygen-rich water decline.

Elias Dimitriou, a freshwater researcher at HCMR, told Kathimerini that the presence of more pollution-tolerant species indicates worsening conditions.

The Kifissos remains in relatively better condition closer to its mountain sources and near its outlet at Faliro Bay.

However, the broader picture has deteriorated sharply.

Between 2012 and the summer of 2020, most seasonal samples classified the ecological quality of the river’s macroinvertebrate communities as moderate or good, with only a small number rated poor.

Since 2020, the vast majority of samples have been classified as poor, while one sample received a bad rating.

Pollution has been a long-standing problem

Researchers say the Kifissos has suffered from pollution for decades, with measurements consistently falling below desirable levels.

Tests measuring nitrogen and phosphorus compounds found the river’s physicochemical water quality ranged from moderate to poor throughout the 2012 to 2025 period.

Scientists say further investigation is now needed to determine exactly where the pollution is coming from and what substances are entering the waterway.

Dimitriou said specialised stable nitrogen isotope analysis would be required to identify the precise sources of pollution.

Such testing would involve a more systematic study rather than analysis of only a small number of samples.

The latest findings highlight the continuing environmental pressure on the Kifissos, a major waterway running through the Athens metropolitan area, and raise further questions about pollution controls along the river and surrounding industrial zones.

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